Burberry takes over Piccadilly Circus – LFW 2011

Monday afternoon saw us venturing away from the catwalks and trundling down to Piccadilly Circus for Burberry’s live streaming of their AW11 collection. We were pretty excited about the prospect of being able to watch their show in the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly, what a great way to get everyone involved with their show!



The crowd and screen at Piccadilly



The live stream

We arrived early, and to our amazement saw a good crowd already positioned around the steps of the Eros Memorial Fountain, is this the new front row for the masses?! There was a real buzz, which was heightened by a live countdown timer on the illuminated screens, as groups of fashion students and office workers gathered to watch the first ever live screening of a catwalk on the billboard screens. Confused tourists still posed for photos and, having realized what was going on, couldn’t believe their luck to have stumbled upon such an experience! Before we knew it, our little crowd was being snapped at, sure to be shown to families back in their native countries.

Soon the crowd was up to 300-strong and the anticipation for the start of the show was high! To our disappointment, a technical glitch meant that the countdown timer jumped from 41 seconds back up to 4 minutes, but the patient crowd didn’t seem to mind too much. Showing scenes of celebrities arriving everyone was monitoring who was there and what they were wearing. Alexa Chung looked effortlessly cool (as always..) in an oversized jumper, leggings and a bright turquoise saddle bag. Ellie Goulding got her bling on with a stunning Burberry gold-studded Mac. The perfect choice!

When the streaming finally started the reaction was similar to that of a regular catwalk. People were taking images on their phones and chatting about what they loved and loathed. Unfortunately, like the weather conditions, the live stream kept freezing, which was slightly irritating to say the least as it meant that a few outfits were missed. However, from what we did see of the collection there was certainly nothing disappointing.  Once again, we see a British Heritage with a twist theme shine through thanks to a cow print flat cap teamed with a vibrant orange structured coat.

Structured shapes and rich autumnal colours of red, orange, pea green and duck egg blue dominated the collection and were given a feminine twist with clever waist belts and extreme wedge shoes. The inclusion of fur gave the collection a luxurious feel and tweed skirts further pushed a sense of British countryside glamour.

So, I guess there are two aspects of the Burberry show to review…the clothes and the live screening. The collection itself was brilliant, everything I expected from the British brand. The live screening, however, was fairly disappointing. The lack of music was a real problem, especially when tweets from the show were saying how great the music was - a soundtrack of cars beeping and droning bus engines doesn’t really do much for the collection! By the end of the show the initial buzzing atmosphere was definitely lost, probably due to the live feed constantly freezing, and the sub-zero weather conditions. So, it looks like Burberry will have to work a bit harder if they want to pull off a live screening next year – I think I will let someone else go to the live screening and I will stay warm and cozy at the live show!

Were you at the live screening in Piccadilly? What did you think about it? Would you go again next year?

DAVID KOMA LFW AW11

Having designed for the likes of Lady Gaga, Cheryl Cole, Rihanna and Beyonce, there was a lot resting on David Koma’s collection this year at London Fashion Week. Strongly tipped as the next big thing, the BFC tent at Somerset House was bursting at the seams bright and early this morning for his show – confirming that this show is indeed the hot ticket of the week. 

Inspired by dark forests, Tim Burton and hallucinations, Koma’s collection did not disappoint. Dots were the name of the game, with laser cut and printed dot patterns adorning Koma’s signature thick material body con dresses. Adding a new dimension Koma’s collection featured tight leather panelling and the most memorable theme of any collection seen so far this week: giant fur pom poms. Yes, pom poms. As if pom poms alone weren’t outrageous enough, Koma really drew gasps as he revealed pom poms in bright, primary colours. It was a refreshing break from the abundance of earthy, dark colours we have seen so far in the AW collections. Adding another dimension to the collection was a selection of dresses and skirts with a printed face embedded in a burst of colour. We were lucky enough to meet Koma after the show and he informed us that the face was actually that of an Italian nun – how this fits in with the themes of the collection we’re not sure but hey, it works! A final special touch for the collection came from fur adornments either gently positioned around the cuffs, or carefully placed in asymmetrical lines across the body.

This collection was a real step up from the clean-lined, sleek silhouetted black dresses we have previously seen from Koma. It was a step out of the ordinary and although leaving the audience divided, Koma has once again highlighted impeccable sculptured tailoring and we can safely say that we are truly inspired by the bravery of such a new designer!

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD LFW AW11

Sunday afternoon saw a somewhat bleary-eyed fashion crowd pull their act together and head to the Royal Courts of Justice for Vivienne Westwood’s Red Label AW11 collection preview. The location was perfect for Westwood – beautiful, conservative and grand, providing the perfect backdrop for her rebellious designs.

Part of Westwood’s appeal is her ability to consistently break the rules and always get it so perfectly right. A true talent! Openly admitting that she doesn’t read fashion magazines or follow trends she has this magical ability to create ingenious designs, that as well as being perfectly on trend, always have a deeper underlying message, aimed at educating the fashion world. 

This season saw a London inspired collections, in particular ‘the Londoner life’. With plenty of tartan and wool and asymmetric pieces there was a very British, punky feel. Looks were layered to perfection and teamed with huge, messy hair and crazy, smudged, almost clown-like make up. Taking additional inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ there was a real sense of the surreal and eclecticism thanks to Westwood’s use of velvet, cotton and wool.  

Key trends to come out of the collection were heritage (a huge trend for AW11 it seems), statement outerwear and clashing prints. Colours were splashed throughout the collection but red definitely stole the show.

Once again, the fashion icon has delivered a unique and coveted collection for AW11.